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Sources of pollution

Industry

Industry

Industries can discharge contaminants into the air (air discharges). Overall, industry is only responsible for about 11% of air pollution in the Auckland region. However, some industries have the potential to cause significant air pollution problems for neighbours and the region's air quality, so these are therefore carefully controlled.

Approximately 11% of public complaints about air quality in the region are about odour or dust from industry. To make a complaint about air discharges from an industry, call the ARC on 09 366 2000.

Issues regarding industrial air discharges

The issues surrounding industrial air discharges can be complex. Some of the major issues are:

Odour
Odour is the primary cause of complaints about industries. Bad odours can cause a lot of nuisance to people particularly if the odour has a foul smell such as sewage or rotting rubbish. Odours mainly affect people's quality of life and can cause great distress:

Dust
Dust nuisance often makes things dirty and can therefore mean having to clean cars, houses, clothes or other objects more often. Nuisance dust is due to larger dust particles - mainly because they are more visible and are more obvious on surfaces.

Hazardous air pollutants
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are substances that can cause health effects in people, plants or animals, or damage to structures such as corrosion. Protecting people especially the sick, elderly or children from any adverse health effects is the main reason many industries that involve chemical processes with HAPs require their air discharges to be very well controlled.

Visible emissions
Visible emissions are air discharges that are visible to the ‘naked eye', including dust clouds, black smoke from chimneys and water sprays. Most industries should not have visible emissions: however some visible emissions such as clean steam are harmless .

Land use conflict
Land use conflict occurs when industries are too close to activities or people that are not compatible with the industries' air discharge. Examples of this are people having houses next to a potentially smelly landfill or next to a manufacturing stack:

Controlling industrial air discharges

Two of the key methods to control the adverse effects of air discharges from industries are:

1. Air pollution control equipment
Air pollution control equipment is often very expensive and specifically engineered to control certain emissions. However, there are also less technical methods that may be appropriate such as using water trucks to control dust from earthworks, or increased chimney height to help disperse any pollutants.

If you think your industry requires air pollution control equipment speak to one of our air quality officers on 09 366 2000.

2. Good on-site management practices
Good on-site management practices are vital to ensuring that industries maintain any discharges to air at the lowest practicable level. Having pollution control equipment that is not well maintained or staff that are not trained in how to respond to an emergency can significantly increase the amount of an air pollutant being discharged.

ARC actively encourages good on-site management practices through consent conditions and responding to air pollution complaints, and are continually revising what is considered to be ‘good practice'.

Do I need an air discharge consent?

The ARC controls significant industrial air discharges through issuing air discharge consents under the Resource Management Act (1991).

Chapter 4 - Air Quality of the Proposed Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water (ALW Plan) identifies activities that require an air discharge consent. However, some processes still require air discharge consents under the old Clean Air Act (1972) until the PARP: ALW Plan is operative.

Processes that will most likely require an air discharge consent include:

  • combustion processes such as power stations and very large boilers
  • industrial incinerators and crematoria
  • drying, curing baking and kiln processes including wood pulp and particle board manufacture
  • large dust generating activities such as quarries, outdoor coal storage and asphalt and cement manufacture
  • waste facilities such as landfills, refuse transfer stations, commercial composting operations, hazardous waste treatment plants and sewage treatment plants
  • food, animal or plant matter processes such as wool scouring, fellmongering and rendering and large scale food processing plants
  • chemical possesses
  • metallurgical processes including galvanising, electroplating, and metal manufacture and
  • intensive livestock farming of poultry, pigs or cattle.

Applying for an air discharge consent

  • speak to an air quality officer to confirm whether a consent is required and which rule in the ALW Plan your activity falls under
  • read TP152 ‘Assessing Discharges of Contaminants into Air (2002). This will also aid you with the preparation of your application and the assessment of any potential air discharges from your site.

If a resource consent is needed then:

  • we'll send you the correct application form to fill out 
  • we may be able to suggest some alternatives or ways that you could modify your proposal that will avoid or minimise effects on the environment
  • return your form to us along with -

  • a description and plan of your proposal showing the location, including MHWS, design details, construction methodology including timing and site access
  • an assessment of environmental effects (AEE) and way that you have modified your proposal to minimise or avoid adverse effects on the environment
  • a description of any consultation that you have undertaken with interested parties, and any responses you have received from them
  • confirmation that all other consents or permits required have been applied for from the ARC and your city or district council for associated works above the Mean High Water Spring (MHWS)
  • the relevant deposit fee. You are required to meet the full costs incurred by the ARC during the processing of your application.

If an investigation can show the impacts on the environment to be minor, then a resource consent may be granted.

Total processing costs will be determined when a decision is made on your application.

We will refund or invoice you with the difference between the actual processing costs and your initial deposit.

Once a resource consent is granted, the ARC and the consent holder begin a formal contractual relationship where the consent holder complies with consent conditions and the ARC is responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing these conditions.

How long will it take to process my application?

To ensure your application is processed in the most timely manner you should:

  • ensure that all the required information is included with your application
  • respond promptly to requests for additional information
  • we also recommend that you lodge your application in draft form for comment to ensure that it is as complete as possible.

The more complete your application, the quicker the processing time will be and the lower the cost:

  • if your application is complete and no further information is required then the ARC must decide on notification within 10 working days of receiving your application
  • if your application is processed on a non-notified basis then the decision must be made within 20 working days
  • if your application is publicly notified, then it will take longer as it must be open for public submission for a period of 20 working days.

Applications which need to be publicly notified can take from two to four months to process, depending on the need for a hearing or not.

How much will an air discharge consent cost?

Charges vary due to the project/site size. View the fees and charges depending upon the nature of your application.

If external professional input is needed to help is consider your proposal, we are obliged to pass this cost onto you. If this is the case, we will check with your first.

How long is a air discharge consent granted for?

The majority of permits for air discharges are granted for 10 years, unless a shorter or longer period is justified.

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